If you have been looking for Mutual Fund Equity Report funds, a place to start could be Hartford Small Company HLS IB (HDMBX Quick QuoteHDMBX - Free Report) . HDMBX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

HDMBX is a part of the Hartford family of funds, a company based out of Woodbury, MN. Hartford Small Company HLS IB made its debut in October of 2002, and since then, HDMBX has accumulated about $36.42 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund is currently managed by Ranjit Ramachandran who has been in charge of the fund since February of 2020.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 3.74%, and is in the middle third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3 -year annualized total return of -2.16%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.

It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower.

When looking at a fund's performance, it is also important to note the standard deviation of the returns. The lower the standard deviation, the less volatility the fund experiences. HDMBX's standard deviation over the past three years is 22% compared to the category average of 18.25%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 25.22% compared to the category average of 19.82%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.16, so it is likely going to be more volatile than the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. HDMBX's 5-year performance has produced a negative alpha of -5.81, which means managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, HDMBX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.05% compared to the category average of 1.19%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, HDMBX is actually cheaper than its peers.

Investors should also note, that according to our data, the fund does not have any minimum investment requirements.

Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included.

Bottom Line

Overall, Hartford Small Company HLS IB ( HDMBX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, worse downside risk, and lower fees, Hartford Small Company HLS IB ( HDMBX ) looks like a great potential choice for investors right now.

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Mutual Fund Equity Report, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.